Ready or Not

If you’re an author, your success is growing, even if it’s only from one book and ten readers. This status vaults you into the public eye. Are you ready?

The accolades from strangers about your storytelling prowess can be strangely invigorating. The growing number of five-star reviews is intoxicating.

Authors tend to work alone. We’re at home in our jammies with our computer, ofttimes a cat or a dog too. Maybe you even have a few curtain climbers toddling around. Yet we can be known on the international stage. To some, you’ll only be little Katie’s mom, or a dog parent (Stanley’s dad). To others, you could be world famous. When I ask if you’re ready, I’m asking if you can stay above the noise, find new plots and characters, and then tell that story. Rinse, wash, repeat.

I know you’ve already thought about your book being cheered, your characters beloved, your plots lauded as intricate and enticing. The readers want more! Can you produce another volume that’s better than the first? You spent your whole life thinking about the plot and characters you used in those initial books. How will you respond to those inevitable readers with bitter voices and angry words?

We sit here at our computers, alone and very afraid that we might stop measuring up. But you will. As you get better at your craft, you’re going to find that your standards will rise, and you’ll tolerate fewer and fewer of your own foibles. You’ll challenge yourself to do better.

But a word of warning: you must not create a standard that you can’t reach. That’s the kind of pressure that crushes a soul. As you move forward in your career, you’ll gather a team of insiders whom you trust because they want the best for you and your stories. Listen to them. They’ll tell you when you’re being a nob. They’ll tell you when the story is good or even great. They’ll help keep you on track.

Don’t give that power to strangers, only your insiders. How can you trust someone whose motivations you don’t know? Think about those one-star reviews. There are people who are so angry with life, their only desire is to bring everyone else down. See that for what it is.

And sometimes you’ll miss the mark. You’ll hear about it. And it’s okay. That’s when you’ll know that you’re ready.